Vietnam veteran Jim Fossum hosts reunion with pair of fellow U.S. Air Force veterans

Jim Fossum of Waukon recently played host to a reunion with a pair of fellow U.S. Air Force veterans, sharing the sites and other amenities of his native northeast Iowa and reminiscing about their days together spent serving their country during the Vietnam War era.
"I know that the Vietnam War wasn't very popular," Fossum said. "But I'm still very proud of my service and of all those guys who served with me."
Fossum's two guests made their way to northeast Iowa for the reunion from their homes in California. Much like Fossum, Bill Markley of San Francisco, CA served in the Air Force from 1964-1968 before being discharged as a Sergeant, while their comrade, John Kucherer of Yucaipa, CA, made the Air Force his career, retiring in 1988 as a Senior Master Sergeant.
The trio spent three days together under Fossum's hospitality, visiting the Allamakee County Veterans Memorial on the lawn of the Allamakee County Courthouse and spending some time at the Vet's Club on Allamakee Street in Waukon looking through the variety of photos and other memorabilia donated by other U.S. Armed Forces veterans from the local area. "We spent a lot of time rehashing old memories, telling our war stories," Fossum said. "It was great to get together with them again."
The three have reunited several times since their days in the service together, usually in Las Vegas, NV. This was the first time they got together in the Midwest.
Among the other highlights of their time spent together were trips to Pike's Peak, Horsfall's Variety Store in Lansing, and a visit to the family dairy farm operated by the Kevin Fossum family in rural Waterville, as well as time spent at the Lynxville Lock and Dam. "They hadn't seen anything like a boat lock through on the Mississippi," Fossum said.

HIS SERVICE
After graduating from Waukon High School in 1964, Fossum was facing the undeniable reality of eventually being drafted into the military as the Vietnam War loomed. Following advice from his older brother, who was a boom operator in the Air Force, Fossum chose to enlist into the U.S. Air Force in order to be better able to choose what he wanted to do during his service tenure.
"My brother told me to enlist, and he told me to seek out a job where I could fly," Fossum said. "Only about one percent of those enlisted in the U.S. Air Force actually get to fly, so when they asked me what area I would like to serve in, I told them anywhere where I could fly. They told me there were some positions open as a loadmaster, so that's what I chose to do."
Assigned to fly out of Travis Air Force Base in northern California, Fossum met fellow aircraft loadmasters Markley and Kucherer. Their jobs entailed calculating load balance for the C141 and C130 aircraft, including flight crew, fuel and cargo, the contents of which spanned a wide spectrum.
"We hauled troops and cargo into places like Vietnam, the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Japan and Hawaii," Fossum said. "We flew out of Travis Air Force Base for two-and-a-half years, and our last year was spent in Vietnam. We were assigned to different bases, but we were still able to see each other almost weekly at various locations in Vietnam. We'd end up flying things like Agent Orange to promote defoliation and would transport wounded soldiers and some who lost their lives back to the States - yes, I remember quite a few caskets draped with our U.S. flag."
While in Vietnam, Fossum explained he was also involved in aerial delivery of supplies to U.S. Marines near the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the C130 aircraft using a method referred to as LAPSE (Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System) during the siege of Khe Sanh. "That was a key battle in Vietnam, and the action was pretty intense," Fossum said. "We would fly in real low and just briefly touch the ground. We'd open up the rear cargo door and release a parachute attached to whatever cargo we had, and that parachute would pull the cargo out the plane - the plane never had to stop."
Fossum also recalls that his aircraft would sometimes suffer damage from small arms fire from Vietnamese soldiers on the ground. "We were fortunate that they didn't have the surface-to-air missiles they used later in the war," Fossum recalled. "And they hadn't quite mastered the idea of leading an aircraft with their gunfire, so in trying to shoot at the front of the aircraft they would often end up hitting the tail of the airplane."

After being honorably discharged in 1968, Fossum spent a year in California before moving back to his native northeast Iowa. He married the former Kathy Waldron, and they have two grown sons, Michael of Chicago, IL and Jim from California, and a grown daughter, Brenda, who lives in the Chicago area.
During his service Fossum earned an Air Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and a Vietnam Campaign Medal. Since his time of service, Fossum says he is so very appreciative of the care that he's received at the Veterans Hospital in Iowa City, especially during some recent difficult medical issues. "I could never thank them enough for what they've done for me down there," he said. "They treat you so kindly, it's a real pleasure to go there."